Solution chemistry: phase behavior, intermolecular interactions and microstructure of ionic liquid systems

Design and synthesis of functional materials and their applications in heterogeneous catalysis

Electrosynthesis of materials and electrocatalysis

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09/2007-07/2011 Shandong University (Bachelor)

09/2011-07/2016 Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Doctor)

   

02/2017-11/2020 Postdoc, The University of Manchester; Research Fellow, Royal Society

06/2021-now Professor, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

   

1.   Yaoyu Yin, Zhongnan Ling, Shiqiang Liu, Yiyong Wang, Wenling Zhao, Hengan Wang, Jiahao Yang, Rongjuan Feng, Shipeng Zhang, Xueqing Xing, Lihong Jing, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Jianling Zhang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Efficient urea electrosynthesis from CO₂ and nitrate mediated by an ionic liquid bridge, Nat. Sustain. 2025, 10.1038/s41893-025-01703-9.

2.   Yaoyu Yin, Zhongnan Ling, Keke Chai, Huisheng Qin, Shiqiang Liu, Shipeng Zhang, Yiyong Wang, Jiahao Yang, Rongjuan Feng, Qingli Qian, Xiaofu Sun, Qinnggong Zhu, Yi Xu, Yongquan Zhou, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han, Switching CO₂ Electroreduction Pathways via Polyvinylpyrrolidone-mediated Water Configuration Control, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, 65, e23093.

3.   Meng Zhou, Yiyong Wang, Shiqiang Liu, Yaoyu Yin, Yaguang Peng, Jiapeng Jiao, Jiahao Yang, Wengling Zhao, Hengan Wang, Ran Duan, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Yi Xu, Jianling Zhang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Synergistic Effect of Mixed Cations in the Electrochemical DoubleLayer Enables Highly Efficient Electrochemical CO₂ Methanation, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, 65, e20997.

4.   Hengan Wang, Yingying Cheng, Yiyong Wang, Ran Duan, Meng Zhou, Shiqiang Liu, Wenling Zhao, Huisheng Qin, Jiahao Yang, Yaguang Peng, Lihong Jing, Yi Xu, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Qingli Qian, Jianling Zhang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Imidazolium radical-mediated electron transfer enhances electrochemical C–N coupling for glycine synthesis, Nat. Synth. 2025, doi.org/10.1038/s44160-025-00892-7.

5.   Hengan Wang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Optimizing CO₂ electroreduction: theoretical insights for enhancing efficiency across elementary steps, Chem. Soc. Rev. 2025, 54, 10156-10244.

6.    Yaoyu Yin, Zhongnan Ling, Shiqiang Liu, Jiapeng Jiao, Yiyong Wang, Yaguang Peng, Xing Tong, Meng Zhou, Rongjuan Feng, Xueqing Xing, Yi Xu, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Mingchuan Luo, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Enhancing CO₂ Electroreduction to Ethylene in Acidic Solution by Optimizing Cation Configuration on the Cu Surface, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 25584-25591.

7.    Wenling Zhao, Jiangnan Li, Ke Li, Jiapeng Jiao, Shiqiang Liu, Jiahao Yang, Mark D. Frogley, Yaguang Peng, Yiyong Wang, Hengan Wang, Shipeng Zhang, Lihong Jing, Chengcheng Liu, Sihai Yang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Enhancing CO₂ Photoreduction Efficiency Through Improved Interaction Enabled by a Decorated Covalent-Organic Framework, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, e202510550.

8.    Yaguang Peng, Yinlin Chen, Zi Wang, Yaoyu Yin, Jiangnan Li, Huanyan Liu, Jiapeng Jiao, Wenling Zhao, Ran Duan, Pei Zhang, Jiahao Yang, Hengan Wang, Xueqing Xing, Zhimin Liu, Sihai Yang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Selective electroreduction of carbon dioxide to ethylene over stable iodide-induced asymmetric copper sites within a metal-organic polyhedron, Sci. Bull. 2025, 70, 2641-2649.

9.    Yaoyu Yin, Zhongnan Ling, Shiqiang Liu, Jiapeng Jiao, Meng Zhou, Pei Zhang, Xing Tong, Yueqian Fan, Jiahao Yang, Huanyan Liu, Xueqing Xing, Jianling Zhang, Yi Xu, Hongyan Liang, Xinchen Kang, * Buxing Han,* Modulating CO₂ electroreduction pathways through controlled ionomer arrangement on catalyst surfaces via solvent dispersion, The Innovation, 2025, 6, 100882.

10.    Yiyong Wang, Yingying Cheng, Shiqiang Liu, Yaoyu Yin, Jiahao Yang, Hengan Wang,Ke Li, Meng Zhou, Jiapeng Jiao, Pei Zhang, Qingli Qian, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun,Yi Xu, Mingchuan Luo, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Enhancing CO₂ Electroreduction to Multicarbon Products by Modulating the Surface Microenvironment of Electrode with Polyethylene Glycol, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, e202420661.

11.    Xinchen Kang, Lili Li, Hengan Wang, Tian Luo, Shaojun Xu, Yinlin Chen, Joseph H. Carter, Zi Wang, Alena M. Sheveleva, Kai Lyu, Xue Han, Floriana Tuna, Eric J. L. McInnes, Chiu C. Tang, Lifei Liu, Buxing Han, Emma K. Gibson, C. Richard A. Catlow, Sihai Yang,* Martin Schröder,* Hierarchical porous metal-organic polyhedra for efficient oxidative cleavage of β-O-4 bonds in lignin model compound, CCS Chem. 2025, 7, 1016-1026.

12.    Shiqiang Liu, Yaoyu Yin, Jiahao Yang, Wenling Zhao, Meng Zhou, Huisheng Qin, jiapeng iao, Yinyong Wang, Hengan Wang, Xing Tong, Yi Xu, Xiaofu Sun, Qinggong Zhu, Maohong Fan, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Temperature-dependent pathways in carbon dioxide electroreduction, Sci. Bull. 2025, 70, 889-896.

13. Jiahao Yang, Jiapeng Jiao, Shiqiang Liu, Yaoyu Yin, Yingying Cheng, Yiyong Wang, Meng Zhou, Wenling Zhao, Xing Tong, Lihong Jing, Pei Zhang, Xiaofu Sun, Qinggong Zhu, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Switching reaction pathways of CO₂ electroreduction by modulating cations in the electrochemical double layer, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, e202410145.

14. Jiapeng Jiao, Xinchen Kang,* Jiahao Yang, Shuaiqiang Jia, Xiao Chen, Yaguang Peng, Chunjun Chen, Xueqing Xing, Zhongjun Chen, Mingyuan He, Haihong Wu, Buxing Han, Lattice strain engineering boosts CO₂ electroreduction to C₂₊ products, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, e202409563.

15. Jiapeng Jiao, Xinchen Kang,* Jiahao Yang, Shuaiqiang Jia, Yaguang Peng, Shiqiang Liu, Chunjun Chen, Xueqing Xing, Mingyuan He, Haihong Wu,* Buxing Han,*Steering the reaction pathway of CO₂electroreduction by tuning the coordination number of copper catalysts, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 15917-15925

16. Yingying Cheng, Shiqiang Liu, Jiapeng Jiao, Meng Zhou, Yiyong Wang, Xueqing Xing, Zhongjun Chen, Xiaofu Sun, Qinggong Zhu, Qingli Qian, Congyang Wang, Huizhen Liu, Zhimin Liu, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Highly efficient electrosynthesis of glycine over an atomically dispersed iron catalyst, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 10084-10092

17. Pei Zhang, Meng Zhou, Shiqiang Liu, Xueqing Xing, Jiahao Yang, Peng Chen, Yaoyu Yin, Yingying Cheng, Xing Tong, Jun Ma, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, ZhongJun Chen, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Tuning the surface field by embedding cations into metals to direct the reaction pathway of CO₂ electroreduction, CCS Chem. 2024, 6, 631-640

18. Fangfang Peng, Junfeng Xiang, Huisheng Qin, Bingfeng Chen, Ran Duan, Wenling Zhao, Shiqiang Liu, Tianbin Wu, Wenli Yuan, Qian Li, Jikun Li,* Xinchen Kang,* and Buxing Han,* Selective electrochemical oxidation of benzylic C−H to benzylic alcohols with the aid of imidazolium radical mediators, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 23905-23909.

19. Yaoyu Yin, Yaguang Peng, Meng Zhou, Pei Zhang, Yingying Cheng, Peng Chen, Xueqing Xing, Xiaoxue Ma, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Qingli Qian, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Highly efficient zinc electrode prepared by electro-deposition in a salt-induced pre-phase separation region solution, Sci. Bull. 2023, 68, 2362-2369.

20. Jiahao Yang, Xinchen Kang,* Jiapeng Jiao, Xueqing Xing, Yaoyu Yin, Shuaiqiang Jia, Mengen Chu, Shitao Han, Wei Xia, Haihong Wu, Mingyuan He, Buxing Han,* Ternary ionic liquid-based electrolyte enables efficient electro-reduction of CO₂ over bulk metal electrodes, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 11512-11517.

21. Pei Zhang, Xinchen Kang,* Liming Tao, Lirong Zheng, Junfeng Xiang, Ran Duan, Jikun Li, Peng Chen, Xueqing Xing, Guang Mo, Zhonghua Wu, Buxing Han,* A new route for the rapid synthesis of metal-organic frameworks at room temperature, CCS Chem. 2023, 5, 1462-1469.

22. Xinchen Kang, Lili Li, Alena Sheveleva, Xue Han, Jiangnan Li, Lifei Liu, Floriana Tuna, Eric J. L. McInnes, Buxing Han,* Sihai Yang* and Martin Schröder,* Electro-reduction of CO₂ at low over-potential at a metal-organic framework decorated cathode, Nat. Commun. 2020, 11, 5464.

23. Xinchen Kang, Bin Wang, Kui Hu, Kai Lyu, Xue Han, Ben F. Spencer, Mark D. Frogley, Floriana Tuna, Eric J. L. McInnes, Robert A. W. Dryfe, Buxing Han,* Sihai Yang* and Martin Schröder,* Quantitative electro-reduction of CO₂to liquid fuel over electro-synthesised metal-organic frameworks, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 17384-17392.

24. Xinchen Kang,Kai Lyu, Lili Li, Jiangnan Li, Louis Kimberley, Bin Wang, Lifei Liu, Yongqiang Cheng, Mark D. Frogley, Svemir Rudić, Anibal J. Ramirez-Cuesta, Robert A.W. Dryfe, Buxing Han, Sihai Yang,* Martin Schröder,* Integration of mesopores and crystal defects in metal-organic frameworks via templated electrosynthesis, Nat. Commun. 2019, 10, 4466.

25. Xinchen Kang, Xiaofu Sun, Xiaoxue Ma, Pei Zhang, Zhanrong Zhang, Qinglei Meng, Buxing Han,* Synthesis of hierarchical porous metals using ionic-liquid-based media as solvent and template, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017, 56, 12683-12686.

26. Xinchen Kang, Huizhen Liu, Minqiang Hou, Xiaofu Sun, Hongling Han, Tao Jiang, Buxing Han,* Synthesis of supported ultrafine non-noble subnanometer-scale metal particles derived from metal-organic frameworks as highly efficient heterogeneous catalysts, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 1080-1084.

27. Xinchen Kang, Xiaofu Sun, Buxing Han,* Synthesis of functional nanomaterials in ionic liquids, Adv. Mater. 2016, 28, 1011-1030.

28. Xinchen Kang, Jianling Zhang, Wenting Shang, Tianbin Wu, Peng Zhang, Buxing Han,* Zhonghua Wu, Guang Mo, Xueqing Xing, One-step synthesis of highly efficient nanocatalysts on the supports with hierarchical pores using porous ionic liquid-water gel, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 3768-3771.